Yusuke sat alone before a low table, his gaze resting on the sealed letter.
The candlelight flickered, casting mottled shadows across the wax seal.
He reached out and picked it up, studying it carefully for a moment before tearing open the seal.
The letter was brief, containing only a few lines.
Yusuke read it word by word, his expression unchanged.
He merely remained silent, his gaze lingering on those lines for a long time.
Then, he brought the letter close to the candle flame.
The flame licked at the paper and quickly spread.
The orange-red glow fell across Yusuke's face, illuminating the fleeting, complicated emotion deep in his eyes.
The paper burned away, turning into wisps of black ash that fell into the ashtray.
Yusuke watched the ashes without moving for a long while.
Outside the window, the night breeze blew through the branches of the old cherry tree, making them sway gently.
No one knew what had been written in that letter.
But the next day—
The atmosphere in the Uchiha Compound quietly changed.
The first to notice that something was wrong were the usually most active members of the Hawk Faction.
At this hour, they would normally gather to discuss clan affairs and occasionally complain about the village's policies.
But today, they were unusually quiet. When they met, they merely nodded before going their separate ways.
Some people asked around in private, but they could not learn anything.
At the afternoon clan meeting, Kagami sat in the seat of honor, his calm gaze sweeping over the elders and clansmen present.
Yusuke sat to his left, looking as usual without any sign of something amiss.
But when he spoke, he no longer offered his habitual "but" and "however." Instead—
"I support the clan head's decision."
The meeting hall fell